The Trials
by AGodCompex
Summary: "There is a great evil among us," the pastor yelled. "I heard it's demonic growling just outside my window late in the night," a crowd began to form around the pastor, "and I heard the booming voice of God demanding me to spread the word that there is a shape-shifter among us." Colonial America AU. Witch Trials. Remione. M for sexual situations and language.
1. Shape Shifter

_A:N/ This isn't going to be one of those "everything works out in the end and everybody is happy" sunshine and rainbow fics. This is going to be relatively historically accurate. Slight Remione. Tonks is dead, Teddy was birthed. American Colonial AU. Multi-chaptered. Rated M for language and suggestive themes (but I also rate everything M just in case). There will be historical inaccuracies, mostly because I failed history and did absolutely no research. It's called an AU for a reason. Another short note, Hermione isn't an only child, families in that time were large, so it only made sense that she has at least two siblings._

* * *

 **SHAPE-SHIFTER**

"There is a great evil among us," the pastor, Father Marcus, yelled, his wife, Mary Lou, stood beside him with her eyes screwed shut muttering prayers and continuously making the sign of the cross between her forehead, heart and shoulders. "I heard it's demonic growling just outside my window late in the night," a crowd began to form around the pastor, "and I heard the booming voice of God demanding me to spread the word that there is a shape-shifter among us." A woman gasped and covered the ears of her young daughter. The men spit on the ground and the women began to pray under their breath.

I saw Mr. Lupin and his young son standing on the edge of the crowd, his face struck with worry. His son looked thoroughly confused and he held on Mr. Lupin's shirt sleeve at his wrist. My mother huffed and whispered to me that there was no such thing and that I shouldn't worry. She commanded I follow her back home, but I wanted to stay and listen. I, too, had heard the beast lurking on the outskirts of the town where I lived with my family.

"I looked out the window and came face to face with a great beast, and by the grace of God I have survived to tell the tale," The pastor was riling up the crowd now, the butcher offered his services to locate and kill the beast, the young men all volunteered as well, trying to impress the young women who were eyeing them through batted lashes. "It had the shape of a wolf, but was larger than the largest wolf in the wood. He howled to the moon and the sound was so powerful, it shook the very ground, knocking my sacred cross to the floor where it broke right in two, that's how I knew it was the Devil outside my window."

A woman in the crowd fainted and the pastor began to speak in tongues. I watched Mr. Lupin and his son walk down the hill to his home, head hung low.

"Hermione, I know you do not disrespect me this way," my mother scolded, "Come, we must prepare supper for your father." I followed my mother east towards the river where we had our family farm.

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My father's father had run the farm successfully until his death at age 40, but my father had not kept with the family business, opting to become a doctor instead. We still had the barn and animals, however, which helped supply the town with eggs, milk, and meat. It was my job as the eldest daughter to tend to the animals every morning and give them feed, a job I did as quickly as I could so I could sit in the wood and read. My two younger siblings, Samuel and Mary, ran about my father's land all day playing with the chickens and the goats and the donkey. They were exceptionally brilliant at lying to our father about my whereabouts, telling him I was out trying to find courtship or praying at the church.

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I sat in the wood with a book I procured from Mr. Lupin called _Poems in Burlesque_ by John Dennis. Mr. Lupin had once caught me sitting against a great tree in the wood squinting at a Bible when I was young. I was scared. Mother had scolded me when I asked her how to read, she said that young ladies need not know that information. She said knowledge was not a woman's place. I expected Mr. Lupin to take me by the arm and drag me to the church to be punished, but instead he smiled. He sat next to me, back against the tree, and for months he taught me to read.

We never spoke outside of the wood, and our discussions were limited to the stories of the word of God and the meanings of certain passages that my small brain could not decipher. Once I turned twelve, I had finished the Bible cover to cover and Mr. Lupin began to leave books in the wood he had bought when he lived in Boston with his wife, Tonks.

I hadn't spoken to him since his son, Teddy, was born. It was a quiet day in town and the women whispered rumors to each other that Mr. Lupin's wife had died in childbirth. He had fled to Boston for several years before returning to Plymouth with a four-year-old toddler and a suitcase.

While he was gone, I was stir crazy. I only had the one book, as I made sure to return all the others once I was done reading. I hadn't had a chance to return Mr. Dennis' book of poems. I tried to leave it in the wood, like I had done with all the rest, but Mr. Lupin never went to retrieve it, and I couldn't bear to leave it to the elements in hopes he would collect it. I had read it countless times, almost so much as I could recite the first poem.

 _As when the Ugly Face of Night,_

 _The Sun does to the Ocean fright,_

 _Neptune and Proteus, with their Train,_

 _The merry Monsters of the Main,_

 _The Red-fac'd God Carrowfing meet,_

 _And with large Draughts his Presence greet;_

I closed my eyes and dreamed of the creatures from Mr. Dennis' poem.

 _To whom three strange prodigious Creatures,_

 _And Monsters of Amphibious Natures,_

 _Half Beasts, half Fish, together hide,_

 _Who though on Land they often lie,_

 _Yet are they never thoroughly dry,_

 _And when they cease to drink, they die;_

Some days when I couldn't stand the boredom of being a woman, I took a horse from the barn and rode to the sea. I would sit on the sand and watch the waves for a glimpse of the creature, imagining her beaching on the sand and dragging me out to sea where I would dissolve into foam and escape the repetitive nature of life.

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When I opened my eyes, I saw the unmistakable doe eyes of Mary, who held a chick in her extended palms.

"She lay down and did not get up, no matter how many times we cried." I took the chick from her hands and held it to my chest, speaking a prayer.

"She's gone to the next place, Mary," I told her softly, "She's to be with God."

"I don't want her to be with God, sister. I want her to be with her mother, and her father, and her brothers and sisters," Mary fell to the ground and let out a loud sob, "Why must all I come to love die? 'Am cursed with the mark of the Devil, is what father say."

"There is no such thing, Mary," I hid my book under leaves and rose to my feet. "Come, Mary, we will bury her before father feeds her to the pigs."

Mary and I collected Samuel to sneak to the Church cemetery and have a proper burial for the chick Mary named Lisa after she cried that the chick never had a proper name. The sky was growing dark when we finished digging a small grave. Father Marcus had discovered us digging in the dirt with our hands and offered to speak a prayer so Lisa would ascend to the Heavens. I was taken aback by his action, I had never thought him to be a trustworthy man, he was always condemning the sinners and informing the community of wrong-doers. He rested a hand on Mary's shoulder as she cried and Samuel covered the chick with soil.

"We collect here on this day for the burial of one of God's children, Lisa, daughter of the chickens on Mr. Granger's farm," Marcus made the sign of the cross. "We ask our father to take her soul into his hands and give her peace in death, that she may never know sorrow or sickness or hunger, and that she live eternally in his pasture." We all said Amen and Mary made a cross out of small sticks to place as a gravestone.

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I sent Mary and Samuel home before it got dark and made my way inside the church to speak to the pastor. He stood at the front of the chapel at his podium, making notes on parchment.

"Father, I have questions about the sermon you gave outside in the square this morning." He looked up from his Bible and gestured towards the front pew where I sat and waited for his response.

"My dear Hermione, not a day goes by that you do not have questions." He spoke, not looking up from his work. "And what, may I ask, is this question?"

"Thank you father. If there is a beast in the wood, how come there have been no injuries? If the beast is truly dangerous, then why have there been no casualties?" I furrowed my brow and looked down at my hands that were folded in my lap. "Why must we kill something that means us no harm?"

"The beast is of the Devil, my dear. The Devil does not get his way by murder or injury," Marcus closed his book and came to stand in front of me, I looked up at his face. He pointed at my head. "The Devil intrudes here, in the mind, he makes you think and believe things that shouldn't be believed." His voice was firm and his expression dark. He pointed at my heart. "Then he intrudes the soul, makes you question your faith in God and tempts you with desires of the heart."

"Forgive me father, but how do I keep the Devil from intruding on my Mind and Soul?" I asked.

"Easy Hermione, don't ask questions. Knowledge is the work of the Devil, we must only seek the knowledge of how to praise and worship our creator, we shouldn't question the morality of beasts or consult other works of knowledge such as those books I know you read." I looked up at his with shock and stood to beg forgiveness but he lifted a finger and gave a soft 'shh'.

"Father, please do not tell father, I'll stop reading them, I'll pray for forgiveness, just please don't tell." I was on the verge of tears and Marcus rested his hand on my shoulder.

"My dear girl, I will not tell of your sin if you promise to tell me the truth, and only the truth, to this question I am about to ask of you," I nodded and he smiled a crooked and utterly terrifying smile. "Have you been witness to witchcraft in the wood you spend so many of your hours in?" I shook my head no.

"I've never seen anything of the sort, father."

"Good, and I ask one more favor of you," I nodded and he leaned in to my ear and whispered. "If ever you do see something that you cannot explain, you will come to me at once and report."

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I left the church with a heavy weight on my chest. I felt uneasy once again towards the pastor since seeing the manipulation in his expression once I made promise to him. I felt dirty and wanted to wash his words off my neck that lingered from his whisper. I had wondered if I should have spoken to him about me hearing the beast outside my home, but shook my head and concluded that he couldn't be trusted with that information. I still had my doubts about the nature of the beast and whether it was of good or bad moral.

I rounded the corner of the butcher's shop and saw the sun slipping into the horizon of the trees of the wood. I could see my home as a small speck in the distance and quickened my pace home. As I passed the town bar, I heard the shrill shriek of a girl and then a series of loud noises coming from behind the building. I paused and considered for a small second to investigate, wondering if something malicious was happening and I could stop it.

I crept towards the sounds with the side of the bar hugging my body so I wouldn't be seen easily and I peered over the back of the building to see Mr. Lupin and the unmistakable blond curled hair of the blacksmith's daughter, Elizabeth. Mr. Lupin was buried into her neck and was kissing and biting her skin as one of his hands lifted Elizabeth's skirt, exposing her bloomers and stockings. His other hand was at her hip and disappeared under the hem of her underclothes. She had her eyes closed and reached into his trousers. He growled loud enough to make me jump and make a small noise in the back of my throat that prompted Mr. Lupin to turn his head and look in my direction.

He didn't stop his movement under her clothes, but he stared at me with an amused look on his face that was uncharacteristic for the gentle man I knew. His eyes were no longer the light brown I remembered, but a harsh amber that made me squirm with discomfort. He turned back to Elizabeth's neck and pushed his body flush against hers when I turned and all about ran home.

I was seeing small black spots in my vision the time I got home and leaned against the post of the fence to catch my breath. I recalled the look in Mr. Lupin's eyes and deep rumble of his chest when he growled that sounded likeness to the growl of the beast from inside the wood. I wandered to the pile of leaves I had hidden the book in and turned to the poem I had read every day since Mr. Lupin's disappearance.

 _Too grave and antique far, for this Age,_

 _To those he seem'd a Gifted Teacher,_

 _To us who heard him rank Letcher._


	2. The Hunt

_A:N/ This story has thus been planned out and will be 16 chapters. It will be lengthier than my previous stories and I am aiming at anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 words a chapter. It will contain the following characters created by J.K. Rowling: Hermione, Remus, Teddy, Credence, Mary Lou, Chastity, Modesty, Draco, Lucius, Narcissa and mention of Tonks. It will also include Mr. and Mrs. Granger who I will call Monica and Wendell, which of course are the names Hermione gave them when she took their memories, but IDC. If you've seen The VVitch (2016) there is a lot of influence of that movie in this fanfic. I've also changed my mind from 'slight Remione' to 'Remione'._

* * *

 **THE HUNT**

"Mother, why must I wear a new dress, I have always worn this one to church," I said. I stood in my underclothes while my mother picked imaginary dirt off a dress she had gotten from the town seamstress. I looked at my dress that lay on my bed and frowned. The bottom of the skirt had long since stained grey from all my trips to the wood and to town and there were places in the brown fabric that were starting to fray. The dress in my mother's arms was a light blue color and I knew straight away it wasn't going to stay clean for long.

"You are of age to be married, Hermione," She began to dress me, tying a corset around my torso. "You need to look proper to attract a suitor. A woman who does not marry is a woman of sin." She pulled the corset tight and I gasped. "There are many nice boys at the church, the judge's boy, Draco, was just asking your father about you the other day." I groaned.

"Draco is a worm, he used to throw mud at me when we were young, I won't marry him mother, he is foul." My mother swatted at my stomach and told me to behave. She pulled the dress on me and I had to admit, it was a lot better than the brown one.

"You must marry, Hermione dear," she looked melancholy and smoothed my skirt down. "And you will not have a say in who you are married to, it will go to a bid for your dowry."

She left me to lace my boots and brush my hair to get my siblings dressed. I heard her scold them, "Samuel and Mary, you are thirteen and ten, not seven and five, stop that this instant."

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We arrived to church with minutes to spare and the only seats vacant were next to Mr. Lupin and Teddy. I could feel the heat of my blush when I sat to his left, my hands in my lap and knees pressed together so I would take up as little room as possible. I looked over at Teddy who was swinging his legs over the side of the seat and staring at the roof of the church. I quickly glanced at Mr. Lupin who was looking off to his right in the direction of the woman I caught him with the day before.

I could see his body tense and I heard the quick inhale of breath through his nose when he saw me next to him chewing on my bottom lip halfway through service. I looked down at my hands and stole a glance at his leg which grew restless and began to bounce while his fingers began to fidget with the fabric over his knee. It was suffocating to sit next to him and feel the tension brewing in the six inches that separated us.

Teddy, thankfully, sneezed loudly and there was a large drip of snot that clung to his mouth. He tried to lick it off, but Mr. Lupin whispered to him that you didn't do that in public and cleaned his face with his handkerchief. Teddy climbed into Mr. Lupin's lap and hugged his arms close to his small body. He talked all throughout the service, asking questions about why people went to church and how far away the clouds were. I listened to Mr. Lupin's voice more than I did the pastor's, and I thanked Teddy when he complimented my new dress.

Before we were excused from mass, Mary Lou Barebone, Father Marcus' wife, cleared her throat and stated she had an announcement. "We are living in dire times, ladies and gentlemen of the congregation," her voice was firm and her lips pressed together in a scowl. "My husband informed of you there is a great beast stalking our community. It lurks just outside our town in the wood, and it is not of good nature." The people began to whisper to each other and there was a cloud of murmuring voices.

"What's a beast?" Teddy asked Mr. Lupin quietly. Mr. Lupin shushed him and kissed the top of Teddy's head.

"But this beast does not come with good intentions, nor is it a creature of God. It is a creature of sin, created by the Devil to stray us from our path of devotion to God." Father Marcus nodded his head and made the sign of the cross followed with a look up towards Heaven.

"This beast is here for one reason, and one reason only, because he has been bewitched," Mary Lou was shouting now, her chest was heaving with her hands lifted to praise God while she began to speak in tongues, tears streaming down her face.

"Witches live among us," Father Marcus started, "They may be your neighbor, your friend, or even your wife or child, but hear my words when I say they are not who you think they are."

Teddy tugged on the sleeve of my dress and leaned in to whisper loudly in my ear, "Are you a witch Heminny?" I shook my head and smiled at him.

"I'm not a witch Teddy," he let out a breath of relief and I leaned in to him and whispered, "Are you a witch?" He shook his head no. "Well," I winked at him and he giggled, "thank God for that."

I could feel Mr. Lupin's stare and tried not to think about the situation I had seen him in yesterday. I remembered his eyes, burning amber, and I turned to meet his gaze. They were light brown, not a speck of amber to be seen. I stared harder and noticed a hint of gray in his eyes much like the few strands of gray weaved through his honey-colored hair.

"I urge the community to be extra observant to abnormalities in your loved one's actions. We will have a meeting here, in the church, at sundown to educate the town on how to spot a witch." Mr. Lupin pulled his gaze to the front of the room and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Are there any questions?"

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Once we were released from mass, I loitered outside the church doors while my mother and father seeked council with Father Marcus about my betrothal. I quickly turned my head towards Mary and Samuel playing in a nearby field when Mr. Lupin exited the church with Teddy in tow. I could hear his footsteps approaching me and he cleared his throat.

"Forgive me for being so forward, Ms. Granger, but I believe I have reason to apologize for my actions yesterday," he said. I turned to look at him and he continued. "I'm deeply sorry for the way I acted and for being so indisposed to commit such acts in a public place." I stumbled over my words.

"Forgive _me_ , Mr. Lupin, for having the indecency to spy on such activities," I blushed and looked down at my shoes which were already stuck with mud. "I believe it is I who stayed and watched as if I sprouted roots out the soles of my boots." He laughed.

"I've told you Ms. Granger, please, call me Remus."

"And I've told you, Mr. Lupin, that I won't call you by your given name until you call me by mine," I met his gaze and narrowed my eyes, letting him know I wasn't going to budge on the matter.

"And Herminny, you can call me Teddy," I smiled down at Teddy and ruffled his hair. Mary Lou walked out of the church doors and began to walk towards me with purpose.

"Ms. Granger, I have a series of questions to ask you about your betrothal," she stated, glaring at Remus. "These questions are not for the company of a man. Mr. Lupin, I believe you have other places to be," Remus nodded and ushered Teddy towards their home. "And Mr. Lupin," he turned to face Mary Lou, "Please do not forget that Teddy has not been baptized yet, there is a dangerous beast in the forest and if he kills your son, he will not be accepted into God's arms without one." Teddy's face fell into confusion and then he began to cry. Remus scooped him up in his arms and carried him down the hill.

"Now, Ms. Granger," She took out a piece of parchment and a quill, "You are how old?" I stared at her blankly for a moment, she had been at my baptism, her son was my age, and yet she still expected me to answer.

"Seventeen years of age, soon to be eighteen in nine days."

"Have you bled?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been bleeding?"

"Three years."

"And are you pure?"

"Yes."

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I wandered to my tree in the wood, dressed in my old brown dress so as not to get my new one dirty. I sat with my back pressed against the bark of the tree and began to cry. I pulled my legs to my body and rested my forehead on my knees. I watched the tears travel to the tip of my nose and fall to my skirt, darkening the fabric in splotches. I stayed still until the sky began to turn colors; I had to be at the church soon for the meeting.

I reached over to the pile of leaves for my book and felt soft leather instead of the stiff paperbound book I had left the day before. I pulled the book from the leaves and smiled; Remus had finally come.

It wasn't a book, as I had hoped, but a leather-bound journal with blank pages and the initials _H.G._ engraved on the cover. Inside was an inscription in neat handwriting, ' _To Hermione, may you write your own stories to share with the world.'_ There was a quill and a pot of ink in the leaves as well, but before I could write a sentence, I heard a deafening scream coming from the farm.

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The first thing I saw was blood. Hanging from twine from the trees near the barn were the corpses of six piglets, all of which had symbols carved into their bellies that looked like figures. Mary was crying, muttering about how the pigs didn't deserve to die, and Samuel was covering her eyes as the townsmen cut them down. Mr. Malfoy had arrived, dressed in his judge robes, and was followed by Mary Lou and Father Marcus. Father was standing near the pigs to great the trio, his face was sunken.

I ran to my mother, who was tied to a post of the fence. She was crying; I had never seen her cry before. "Hermione, dear, do not speak with me, go to Mary, she needs your kind words," Mother cried. I obeyed and pulled Mary into a tight hug. Mr. Malfoy approached us along with Mary Lou.

"Ms. Granger, children, were any of you witness to this heinous crime?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"No, sir."

"And where, may I ask, were you when the crime was committed?"

"I was in the wood, sir," I saw the questioning look on Mr. Malfoy's face, "I enjoy taking walks after church to clear my mind." Mr. Malfoy turned to Samuel and Mary.

"And where were you two, did you witness anything?"

"We were inside, sir," Samuel said, "Eating supper."

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Mr. Malfoy let us go and commanded us head to the church to pray away the sin that hovered over our home. Through the church windows we watched Mr. Malfoy drag our mother to the jailhouse and heard the town's people's rumors about the act of witchcraft she had committed. Father Marcus entered the church with his children. Modesty and Chastity asked Samuel and Mary to play, which they accepted quietly and wandered just outside the church the opposite direction of the jailhouse. Credence sat next to me and bowed his head in prayer.

"You look as though you have questions, Ms. Granger," Father Marcus said while he prepared his notes for the meeting. "I am not going anywhere; you may ask them now."

"Forgive me father," I said, my voice choked with tears, "But I do not understand. How do you know without a doubt that it was my mother who butchered the pigs?" I looked up at him and waited for his answer, but I was left with suffocating silence.

"We never know anything for certain, Ms. Granger," Father Marcus said after several moments of silence, "The only true judge is God, any other judgement is merely speculation."

"Then how can you punish someone for doing a crime with no proof?"

"That is how a witch hunt works, Ms. Granger."

I didn't have any further questions, not for a man who wasn't giving me straight answers. Credence held my hand in his and told me if I ever needed anything, that I could speak with him.

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I sat with the Barebone family during the meeting. I wasn't listening to the lecture, instead I thought about my mother, and I wondered if they were treating her respectfully. Credence had long since let go of my hand, mostly because his mother had shot daggers at us when she noticed, but I had always felt comfortable with him beside me. When we were children, he would comfort me after Draco would push me around and call me names. We used to play in the wood or swim in the stream in our underclothes, but once we turned of marriage age, Mary Lou demanded we not be alone together. "Children's play quickly becomes sin," she had told my father.

Mary had not spoken since the incident and Samuel tried to cheer her up. I spotted Remus at the meeting and longed to thank him for the journal, but I was swept away by Mary Lou and told that my siblings and I were to stay at their house until the darkness was gone from the farm.

I put on my borrowed night clothes from Mary Lou and laid in my given bed with Mary, Modesty, and Chastity. Mary was sprawled across my chest and I softly pet her hair while she slept. There were times in the night I swore I heard my mother cry out. There were times in the night I swore I heard a wolf growling just outside my window.


	3. Suitors

_A:N/ Great news to anyone who follows, favs, or reads it, THIS STORY IS MY NEW BABY! I am in love with this one, I know that's narcissistic, but wow, I'm in love with it. I almost wish someone else had written it so I didn't have to do the work, but I'm just glad that it's going to exist. Quick mention of my other child, that exists, my Fremione: Wallflower. Shameless self-promoting. Just an update that this story will be entirely in Hermione's POV. If you want Remus's or someone else's, maybe ask and if multiple people want it, it would be a possibility. (options are Remus, Credence, and or Father Marcus)_

 _Quick shout out to Wolf: There is a reason it reminds you of The VVitch, it's because that movie heavily inspired this fanfiction, along with M. Night Shamalsjaifsnaoifsnan's The Village, The Blair Witch (2016 and original), and Red Riding Hood, this book I read when I was in, like, the ninth grade._

 _I also want to mention here that I am not religious, I grew up going to church but it never stuck, and it's not my intentions to press religion onto any of my readers. The mentions of the bible are merely my interpretations of things and the only reason religion is so heavy in this story is because it's historically accurate and it goes with the witch hunt. The theme of religion is very important to my plot and I hope it does not offend anybody because it is not going away._

* * *

CHAPTER THREE: SUITORS

When I woke, it was to an empty bed and the smells of porridge wafting throughout the Barebone house. I dressed quickly in old brown dress, as I had left the blue behind at the farmhouse, and hastily tied my hair in a knot on top my head like mother had taught me. Mary Lou scolded me for sleeping so late and informed me of the meeting that was taking place mid-morning: my betrothal bidding.

"The suitors from the village and surrounding small communities are meeting in the church to bid for their right to wed you," Mary Lou explained, giving a critical eye to the state of my dress. "Whosoever bids the lowest will be your husband."

"Forgive me Mrs. Barebone, but aren't bids usually determined by the highest bidder?" I asked, smoothing my skirt as I sat at the table to eat with the children.

"By Gods, Ms. Granger, haven't you any decency," Mary Lou said. "To think that you are worth anything more than the dirt on your dress. Women are not bought, but their marriage is bought by the father." Samuel and Mary picked at their porridge. "It is your father that pays your husband to take you as his wife. That is your dowry"

I had no words to say, I only thanked her for the meal and ate quickly. "Have you no other clothes, Ms. Granger?" Mary Lou asked. "No man in his right mind would want a wife as filthy as you." I nodded and was given permission to retrieve my things from home.

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I briskly made my way home so that I could get to the church in time to eavesdrop on the meeting. I could see the pigs still hanging from the trees near the barn and glanced around to see if there were any witness within eyesight.

I walked up to the pigs with caution, careful not to give evidence that I had approached. I could see the figures clearly now and smell the rot of their flesh. I ran to the wood where I had hidden my journal from Remus and back again to the pigs with the quill, ink, and book in hand. I turned to the first page and began to draw the symbols that were carved into their bellies.

The symbols looked like people, similar to the drawings of the Indians that lived within day's walking distance from the village, but they were not drawn in motion or in story, but sedentary with their arms and legs still like a child's drawing. Their heads were triangles, the same as their bodies, with the legs and arms extending from the lines of the body. I drew them as they were on the pig, as each pig was carved with the same pattern of figures, with the largest in the upper left corner, and a series of sixteen decreasing in size in the shape of a spiral.

I made my way to the farm house and grabbed a sack to carry my items in. I went to Samuel and Mary's rooms and grabbed their extra change of clothes, their night clothes, and a toy for each. I went to my room and grabbed my blue dress, my set of night clothes, and a pouch of coins my father had given me over the months for spending.

Once returned to the Barebone residence I snuck behind the house to hide my journal. I wedged my things between the chicken coop and the house, careful not to tip over the ink or damage the quill. I covered them until they were no longer visible and entered the house.

Mary Lou fussed over my dress, demanding I allow her to help me change. She pulled my corset tighter than mother and commanded I polish my boots that were covered in drying mud. "You'd think you were raised in a barn, not a doctor's home," she fussed.

"No intent to be cheeky, Mrs. Barebone," I said, "but my home _is_ a farmhouse."

"If you must say 'no intent'," Mary Lou said, "then you mustn't speak at all."

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I polished my boots and smoothed my dress before I snuck out the back door of the house up towards the church. I stood near the window that faced towards the wood so I would not be spotted and squatted beneath it so I could hear.

"I assure you all, Ms. Granger shows no reason to believe she is an inherited witch," Father Marcus spoke, "The instance of Mrs. Granger's trial has no bearing in the betrothal of Ms. Granger."

"I wouldn't accept a witch in my home for all the land in the world," a man with a nasally voice spat on the floor.

"I wouldn't for all the gold," another spat after.

"Then I suppose she's mine then," the familiar cold voice of Draco, the judge's son, spoke.

"I'll take her for no dowry," Remus said. There was a collective gasp and then a silence.

"You'll take a wife for nothing?" A man questioned.

"What on God's Earth commands you to do that?" Another asked.

"My son has taken a liking to her," Remus said, "and my son needs a mother."

"You can't do that," Draco said. "I'll take her for nothing, too."

"Then I am afraid we are at an impasse," Father Marcus spoke. "It will be up to her father which man she will marry."

I stayed hidden whilst the men left the church and caught sight of Remus wandering down the hill towards his home. "By the grace of God, it would seem Ms. Granger is an eavesdropper," Father Marcus spoke as he turned the corner and looked upon me. "Did you hear what you were expecting?"

"I won't marry Malfoy," I said.

"But that's a decision for your father, and I hear Mr. Malfoy is intending to speak with him now." Father Marcus bent down and began to till the ground with his fingertips. "You live on a farm, do you not Ms. Granger?"

"I do, Father."

"I've been thinking for some time to grow a garden out here beside the cemetery. I think it will take away from the sorrow and pain of death and add an element of hope." Father Marcus righted himself. "Is it to your knowledge that this soil is adequate for crop?"

"This soil is very rich, Father," I said. "I could tell when we buried the chick."

"Very good, I'm going to order seeds in the morn then."

"Father, if I may- "

"Ask away, Ms. Granger."

"What would happen if I were to deny betrothal. I do not wish to marry Malfoy, and I certainly will be forced to if he speaks to my father."

"These are dire times, Ms. Granger, to be an unwed woman. Do you remember what I spoke at the meeting last night?"

"I'm afraid not, Father. My mind was elsewhere."

"In good reason, my dear. An unwed woman is susceptible to witchcraft. If you do not wed, then I'm afraid Mr. Malfoy would crucify you a witch for denying his proposal, and there would be no evidence to prove him otherwise."

"Under what cause? I've never done anything to justify accusation," I said.

"You are very much under scrutiny," Father Marcus stepped towards me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Your mother awaits trial; they could hang you for mere inheritance."

I cried and Father Marcus patiently waited for me to regain composure.

"I won't marry Malfoy; how do I fix this?" I looked up into Father Marcus's eyes and saw my pain reflected across his face.

"Ms. Granger, you are a dear friend to my son, I have seen you grow into a woman from a small child and I think of you a daughter."

"So you want me to marry Credence?" I cut him off and he raised his right hand to silence me.

"I mean to say that I will help you in this case." He looked around and then returned his gaze to me. "There was another man who spoke for you, Mr. Lupin, and you are to go to your father and request that Mr. Lupin be your betrothed."

"Father will not listen to me. He would have already promised Malfoy my hand."

"Indeed, but your father will come to me and seek my advice, and I will give it."

"I owe you so much, Father," I hugged him and he patted my head. "Although I feel as though I am in your debt."

"We've already made a promise before, haven't we?"

"I will tell you of any suspicious behavior in the wood."

"Now then, let's add to that and call it done." I nodded. "You will tell me, and only me, of any goings on in the wood, and I then, in turn, will deal with it as the Lord commands."

"Yes, Father."

"Now, run along to your father's practice in the village center. I believe Mr. Malfoy is just leaving." I watched Father Marcus enter the church from the back entrance and hurried over to the hospital.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

"Father, I must speak to you of much importance," I called out as I entered the hospital building. Father was sitting as a desk in the corner of the small room, writing furiously on a piece of parchment.

"Come, my sweet girl, I have some news for you," he beckoned me to sit on the other side of him at the desk.

"Father, do you love me?" I asked. He looked up from his paper through the glass of his lenses.

"Of course, my child, I love you as much as a man can."

"Then I ask of you, as your eldest daughter, to allow me to speak my mind."

"As you wish," he put his quill down and folded his glasses, setting them on a stack of papers on the desk.

"I do not want to marry Malfoy, father, please do not make me."

"Hermione," my father pressed his lips in a line, "I have already promised your betrothal to him." I began to cry and rested my head on my arms atop his desk. "Why do you ask me of this?"

"He's horrible," I sat up and stared into my father's eyes. "His family is horrible, he treats others with disrespect, and he treats me, above all else, as if I am dirt beneath his shoe."

"Hermione, dear, he has accepted you without dowry. Do you know how important that is?" He choked and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "We cannot make the Malfoys our enemy, they have your mother," his face grew stern, "or have you forgotten?"

"I have not forgotten, father, but Mr. Lupin has also asked for me."

"Mr. Lupin is not a man of respect. If you knew the things he did, you would not wish to be married to him," father bellowed, causing me to jump in my seat.

"Father, Mr. Lupin is kind to me and has never treated me with anything but respect, that is more than I can say about Malfoy."

"And what of his child? You would be mother to a son you did not birth."

"Teddy is an angel; I often speak to him after church and play hide and seek with him in the wood. I love Teddy with all my heart and would be happy to me a mother replacement for him."

"I forbid it," father spoke. He slammed his fist on the table. "I forbid it."

"What makes Mr. Lupin so bad a man that you would deny your daughter a chance at happiness?"

"Mr. Lupin is a lecher," father yelled, his face turning purple. "He frequents the brothels outside the village and had a bastard child who killed its prostitute mother in childbirth." I stared up at him in shock. "It's known in rumor that his wife, who he wed soon after her sudden illness of child, was a witch and that she gave her own life to the Devil so her son could live."

"Rumor is not truth, father," I said.

"Rumor is everything, Hermione." He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. "You do not want to be associated with a family of sin in times like this. You'll be labeled a witch like your mother."

"Father, Mr. Lupin is my choice to be married. I ask of you to let go your grudge and allow me this."

Father was silent for a long while, stroking his beard as he stared off into the street through the window. "Mr. Malfoy is a powerful man, but there is one man who holds more power. I will ask Father Marcus what he thinks of this," I let out a sigh of relief, "and I will make my decision then."

"Thank you father," I leaned over the desk and hugged around his neck.

"There will be outrage within the Malfoy family, they will not be happy if I break my promise to them."

"I will never forget what you've done for me, father," I kissed his cheek and stood beside his desk. "I will forever thank you for allowing me this." I headed for the door.

"I have not decided yet, my dear," I smiled with my back to my father, "I will only know once I've spoken to Father Marcus."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

"How dare you, you whore," Draco spat when he saw me outside the church. "Do you have any idea who my father is? He has your mother and he can have her hanged for what you've done to me." Draco was seething, his pasty skin was tinted red; he looked like a strawberry.

"I've no idea why you would have me as a wife in the first place," I said, meeting his harsh gaze. "I thought I was a measly peasant." I kicked dirt at his legs and he almost fainted.

"These are new trousers," he brushed the dirt off the black fabric, but there was still a dust stain on his shins. "You'll pay for this," he reached his hand back and was about to slap me when his mother exited the church and scolded him.

"Draco, dearest, that is no way to treat a lady," Mrs. Malfoy said, grabbing his hand and lowering it to his side. "Hello Ms. Granger, I am very sorry to see that you will not be my daughter-in-law," her smile did not reach her eyes. "I'm sure you'll be very happy with Mr. Lupin."

"Just keep him away from those whorehouses and you will be fine," Mr. Malfoy said loudly as he exited the church behind his wife. Mrs. Malfoy and Draco smirked.

"If you'll pardon me, I'm sure I'm wanted inside," I curtsied and hurried into the church, closing the doors behind me. Remus was inside holding hands with Teddy. Remus looked flustered and I knew in that moment that he had heard Mr. Malfoy's remark. I looked up at my father, who was wringing his hat in his hands. Father Marcus smiled at me.

"My dearest Hermione, I was wondering if you would ever show," I made my way past the pews and stood beside my father. "It seems as though you will be married to Mr. Lupin."

"Herminny," Teddy looked up at me with his big brown eyes, "You're gonna be my new mommy now." I smiled down at him and he hugged my legs.

"I apologize, Ms. Granger, for not asking permission to bid for you beforehand," Remus looked at me with genuine concern.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Lupin, I do believe it was I who asked to be wed to you, not Draco." Remus's eyes went wide and he turned his head to hide his smile.

"You should call each other by first names now, you'll soon be married," Father Marcus said. "Until the time is come that you are wed, you will be staying at home, Hermione," Father Marcus looked deep in thought for a moment and then spoke again, "I mean to say, that you will be staying at my residence until your home is cleared of sin."

We all thanked Father Marcus and walked outside the church. Remus and Teddy bid farewell and I watched them retreat down the hill. "I hope he makes you happy, my dearest, because he has already caused me much trouble," my father said. "Mr. Malfoy says he intends to push your mother's hearing to this Friday, where she will be put on trial for witchcraft." Father looked grim and he put his hat on.

"They would have prosecuted her either way father, Father Marcus said-"

"They would have let her go had you married their boy," father whispered. "If you could have only known your place, your mother wouldn't be sitting in that cell, she would be home, with me, and I ask you now to leave my sight."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Credence found me sitting beside the chicken coop crying. He sat beside me and held my hand. "Modesty went running by the river today with Samuel and Mary," he said, lightly rubbing circles into my hand, "she slipped into the water and by the time she got out, her dress was caked in mud and grass and Mary laughed at her so Modesty threw mud at her. It turned into this great big fight, I even got hit," Credence pointed the side of his face where there was still a spot of dried mud on his jaw. I wiped it off with the sleeve of my dress. "When we returned home, mother was furious, she commanded that we undress and wash our clothes ourselves, because she wasn't going to do it," I wiped my tears and leaned my head on his shoulder. "So Chastity picked a handful of mud off the ground and threw it at mother." I gasped and then giggled. "Mother was so angry, she didn't know what to do, so she threw mud back at Chastity." He laughed and then rested his head on mine. "Everyone always thinks of mother as this strict, rule following woman, but when you get to know her, even she has a playful side," I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "People say things, spread rumors, but it isn't until you spend time with a person do you learn who they really are. I know people talk about Mr. Lupin, I hear it all the time when I'm with father, but don't believe everything you hear, Hermione."

Mary Lou came out to remind us to wash up before supper. I half expected her to yell at us for being in such proximity without supervision, but she let it be. Dinner started quiet, I was grateful that Mary Lou hadn't asked me any questions about my betrothal, but less grateful when she asked instead about my mother and the witchcraft she had conjured up at the farm.

"We cleared the pigs this evening," Father Marcus told us, "and I blessed the farm. It should be safe for you to return home in the morning." Samuel and Mary smiled and thanked Father Marcus. "Hermione, dear," I raised my head to meet Father Marcus' eyes, "You will continue to stay with us, your father," he coughed and pardoned himself, "your father has wished you stay with us. You will stay with Credence until you move in with Mr. Lupin."

"Marcus, Hermione can not stay with Credence, they are not children anymore," Mary Lou chided, "She will stay with Modesty and Chastity."

"Mary Lou," Father Marcus said darkly, "Hermione will stay with Credence and that is the end of the discussion. Hermione and our boy can take it upon themselves to be decent. There have never been any problems in the past."

"They've never been unsupervised before, Marcus, she is to be wed, no husband wants their future wife sleeping in another man's bed."

"It is done, Mary Lou, I will not have any further discussion about this." Father Marcus banged his knife on the table and Mary Lou quieted down, folding her hands in her lap. I glanced over at Credence who looked at me with wide eyes.

"I heard there was quite the mud fiasco," I said, looking over at Modesty and Chastity who stared at Father Marcus in shock, "I bet that was fun."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

It was late in the night when I woke in a cold sweat. I could hear the shouts of village men and see the soft glow of torches in the distance through the window. I slipped out of bed and nudged Credence, who was sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor, with my foot.

"Credence, what do you suppose is going on?" I asked. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, stretching and yawning.

"I don't know," he looked up at me and smiled dangerously, "but let's find out."

It took us a few minutes to sneak out of the house quietly and we were still looking over our shoulders to make sure Mary Lou wasn't stalking us in the night. The commotion was coming from my farm, and we slowly crept towards the house.

Mr. Malfoy, Father Marcus, Mary Lou, and many other prominent village men were standing in a half circle staring in awe towards the barn. The twelve full-sized pigs we stocked in our barn were suspended midair with their bodies distorted and broken in arches ten feet off the ground. The goats were running rampant behind the fence, their voices sounded like screams. The horses had jumped the fence and were trotting in circles behind the house with the family dog that barked and nipped at their hooves. Mary Lou fainted and I heard the distinctive voice of Mr. Malfoy call out firm and grave over the chaos. "It seems as though Plymouth has another witch among us."

Credence and I looked at each other in shock and turned to hurry back home, but we were met with the familiar, and very sleepy looking, face of Remus, who grabbed us by the arms and pulled us into the wood.

* * *

 _End Note: So, this is being published the day I planned to (yay). Let me know what you think about it so far, I'm excited about where this is going. If anybody has anything they'd like to see, I'll consider adding it._


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